KSC-97EC-0281 - STS-82 Discovery Launch
The Space Shuttle Discovery cuts a bright swath through the
early-morning darkness as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on a
scheduled 10-day flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST). Liftoff of Mission STS-82 occurred on-time at 3:55:17 a.m. EST,
Feb. 11, 1997. Leading the veteran crew is Mission Commander Kenneth
D. Bowersox. Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz is the pilot. Mark C. Lee is the
payload commander. Rounding out the seven-member crew are Mission
Specialists Steven L. Smith, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Joseph R. "Joe"
Tanner and Steven A. Hawley. Four of the astronauts will be divided
into two teams to perform the scheduled four back-to-back
extravehicular activities (EVAs) or spacewalks. Lee and Smith will
team up for EVAs 1 and 3 on flight days 4 and 6; Harbaugh and Tanner
will perform EVAs 2 and 4 on flight days 5 and 7. Among the tasks will
be to replace two outdated scientific instruments with two new
instruments the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and the
Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). This is
the second servicing mission for HST, which was originally deployed in
1990 and designed to be serviced on-orbit about every three
years. Hubble was first serviced in 1993. STS-82 is the second of
eight planned flights in 1997. It is the 22nd flight of Discovery and
the 82nd Shuttle mission.
02/11/97